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Table of Contents

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

x      Quarterly Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended December 31, 2014

 

OR

 

o         Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

For the transition period from              to             

 

Commission file number: 001-34733

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)

 

27-1855740
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification number)

 

 

 

170 Radnor Chester Road, Suite 150
Radnor, PA

(Address of principal executive offices)

 


19087

(Zip Code)

 

(484) 367-7432

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x  No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x  No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.:

 

Large accelerated filer o

 

Accelerated filer x

 

Non-accelerated filer o

 

Smaller reporting company o

 

 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o  No x

 

As of February 2, 2015, there were 37,988,724 Common Units outstanding.

 

 

 



Table of Contents

 

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

 

This report contains information that may constitute “forward-looking statements.” Generally, the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which typically are not historical in nature. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future—including statements relating to general views about future operating results—are forward-looking statements. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date when made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In addition, forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include changes in general economic conditions, competitive conditions in our industry, actions taken by third-party operators, processors and transporters, changes in the availability and cost of capital, operating hazards, natural disasters, weather-related delays, casualty losses and other matters beyond our control, the effects of existing and future laws and governmental regulations, the effects of future litigation, and certain factors described in Part II, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, and those described from time to time in our future reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

i



Table of Contents

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

Page

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

Item 1.

Financial Statements (unaudited)

1

 

 

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the Three and Nine Months Ended December 31, 2014 and 2013

1

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014

2

 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Nine Months Ended December 31, 2014 and 2013

3

 

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Members’ Equity for the Nine Months Ended December 31, 2014 and 2013

4

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

5

 

 

 

Item 2.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

25

 

 

 

Item 3.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

36

 

 

 

Item 4.

Controls and Procedures

36

 

 

 

 

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

Item 1.

Legal Proceedings

37

 

 

 

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

37

 

 

 

Item 6.

Exhibits

38

 

ii



Table of Contents

 

PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1.  Financial Statements (unaudited)

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

Consolidated Statements of Earnings (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(in thousands of U.S. dollars, except for per unit amounts)

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fee-based revenue

 

$

15,628

 

$

30,484

 

$

74,015

 

$

95,151

 

Optimization, net

 

23,591

 

(4,637

)

31,171

 

24,746

 

 

 

39,219

 

25,847

 

105,186

 

119,897

 

Expenses (income):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating

 

9,434

 

8,426

 

32,451

 

27,747

 

General and administrative

 

4,233

 

9,361

 

20,513

 

30,164

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

41,752

 

10,518

 

107,730

 

31,149

 

Interest

 

13,182

 

17,114

 

38,229

 

49,718

 

Impairment of goodwill

 

245,604

 

 

245,604

 

 

Foreign exchange losses

 

344

 

160

 

32

 

606

 

Other (income) expense

 

(72

)

(14

)

(72

)

360

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EARNINGS (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAXES

 

(275,258

)

(19,718

)

(339,301

)

(19,847

)

Income tax benefit

 

(15,635

)

(6,309

)

(31,875

)

(6,561

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NET EARNINGS (LOSS) AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

 

$

(259,623

)

$

(13,409

)

$

(307,426

)

$

(13,286

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss) allocated to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managing Member

 

$

(4,677

)

$

(260

)

$

(5,573

)

$

(256

)

Common unitholders

 

$

(254,946

)

$

(13,149

)

$

(301,853

)

$

(13,030

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings (loss) per unit allocated to common unitholders - basic and diluted

 

$

(6.85

)

$

(0.37

)

$

(8.27

)

$

(0.37

)

 

(See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements)

 

1



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

December 31,

 

March 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2014

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

8,380

 

$

7,704

 

Margin deposits

 

3,193

 

32,626

 

Trade receivables

 

2,922

 

5,760

 

Accrued receivables

 

37,742

 

150,628

 

Natural gas inventory

 

209,365

 

75,140

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

7,433

 

4,330

 

Short-term risk management assets

 

76,997

 

20,949

 

 

 

346,032

 

297,137

 

Long-term assets

 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation

 

825,562

 

908,274

 

Goodwill

 

 

245,604

 

Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization

 

44,675

 

65,462

 

Deferred charges, net of accumulated amortization

 

11,915

 

14,640

 

Other assets

 

3,546

 

3,268

 

Long-term risk management assets

 

24,050

 

4,806

 

 

 

909,748

 

1,242,054

 

TOTAL

 

$

1,255,780

 

$

1,539,191

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND MEMBERS’ EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

Revolving credit facilities

 

$

240,500

 

$

119,500

 

Current portion of obligations under capital lease

 

1,329

 

1,299

 

Trade payables

 

545

 

1,023

 

Current portion of deferred taxes

 

5,612

 

5,678

 

Deferred revenue

 

4,043

 

6,036

 

Accrued liabilities

 

41,072

 

111,118

 

Short-term risk management liabilities

 

40,112

 

19,105

 

 

 

333,213

 

263,759

 

Long-term liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term risk management liabilities

 

18,367

 

12,209

 

Asset retirement obligations

 

2,407

 

1,975

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

1,167

 

1,809

 

Deferred income taxes

 

87,428

 

119,373

 

Obligations under capital lease

 

9,926

 

10,926

 

Long-term debt

 

575,000

 

575,000

 

 

 

694,295

 

721,292

 

Members’ equity (deficit)

 

 

 

 

 

Common units

 

(39,972

)

279,604

 

Managing Member’s interest

 

268,244

 

274,536

 

 

 

228,272

 

554,140

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 2)

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL

 

$

1,255,780

 

$

1,539,191

 

 

(See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements)

 

2



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating Activities

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss)

 

$

(307,426

)

$

(13,286

)

Adjustments to reconcile net earnings (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Unrealized foreign exchange losses

 

260

 

830

 

Deferred income tax benefit

 

(31,938

)

(6,561

)

Unrealized risk management (gains) losses

 

(48,127

)

22,447

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

107,730

 

31,149

 

Deferred charges amortization

 

2,738

 

2,506

 

Gain on disposal of assets

 

(64

)

 

Non-cash compensation expense

 

1,687

 

 

Impairment of goodwill

 

245,604

 

 

Write-downs of inventory

 

42,200

 

 

Changes in non-cash working capital

 

(105,338

)

(67,961

)

Net cash used in operating activities

 

(92,674

)

(30,876

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investing Activities

 

 

 

 

 

Property, plant and equipment expenditures

 

(5,466

)

(1,662

)

Purchase of customer contracts

 

 

(2,007

)

Proceeds on sale of assets

 

14

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

(5,452

)

(3,669

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financing Activities

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from revolver drawings

 

652,700

 

452,000

 

Revolver payments

 

(531,700

)

(390,000

)

Repayments of obligations under capital lease

 

(970

)

(941

)

Payments of financing costs

 

(880

)

(100

)

Distributions to unitholders

 

(20,105

)

(27,631

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

99,045

 

33,328

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of translation on foreign currency cash and cash equivalents

 

(243

)

(221

)

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

 

676

 

(1,438

)

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

 

7,704

 

10,610

 

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

 

$

8,380

 

$

9,172

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplemental cash flow disclosures (Note 15)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements)

 

3



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Members’ Equity

(in thousands of U.S. dollars)

(Unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managing

 

 

 

 

 

Common

 

Subordinated

 

Member

 

 

 

 

 

Units

 

Units

 

Interest

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance, April 1, 2013

 

$

321,642

 

$

265,877

 

$

9,858

 

$

597,377

 

Cancellation of subordinated units

 

 

(265,877

)

265,877

 

 

Net earnings (loss)

 

(13,030

)

 

(256

)

(13,286

)

Distributions to unitholders

 

(38,938

)

 

(784

)

(39,722

)

Issuance of common units

 

11,860

 

 

 

11,860

 

Balance, December 31, 2013

 

$

281,534

 

$

 

$

274,695

 

$

556,229

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balance, April 1, 2014

 

$

279,604

 

$

 

$

274,536

 

$

554,140

 

Net earnings (loss)

 

(301,853

)

 

(5,573

)

(307,426

)

Distributions to unitholders

 

(38,986

)

 

(751

)

(39,737

)

Issuance of common units

 

19,608

 

 

 

19,608

 

Non-cash equity contribution from parent

 

480

 

 

10

 

490

 

Non-cash compensation expense

 

1,175

 

 

22

 

1,197

 

Balance, December 31, 2014

 

$

(39,972

)

$

 

$

268,244

 

$

228,272

 

 

(See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements)

 

4



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

1. Organization and Basis of Presentation

 

Organization

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (“Niska Partners” or the “Company”) is a publicly traded Delaware limited liability company (NYSE:NKA) which independently owns and/or operates natural gas storage assets in North America. The Company operates the AECO Hub™, which consists of the Countess and Suffield gas storage facilities in Alberta, Canada and the Wild Goose and Salt Plains gas storage facilities in California and Oklahoma, respectively. Each of these facilities markets natural gas storage services in addition to optimizing storage capacity with proprietary gas purchases.

 

At December 31, 2014, Niska Partners had 37,988,724 common units outstanding. Of this amount, 20,488,525 common units are owned by affiliates of Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund II, L.P. and Carlyle/Riverstone Global Energy and Power Fund III, L.P. (collectively, the “Carlyle/Riverstone Funds”), which include Niska Holdings, L.P. and Niska Sponsor Holdings Cȯȯpertief, U.A., along with a 1.80% Managing Member’s interest in the Company and all of the Company’s Incentive Distribution Rights (“IDRs”). Including all of the common units owned by the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds, along with the 1.80% Managing Member’s interest, the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds have a 54.76% ownership interest in the Company excluding the IDRs, which are a variable interest. The remaining 17,500,199 common units, representing a 45.24% ownership interest excluding the IDRs, were owned by the public.

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The accounting policies applied in these unaudited interim financial statements are consistent with the policies applied in the consolidated financial statements of Niska Partners and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014.

 

In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements of Niska Partners, which are unaudited except for the balance sheet at March 31, 2014 which is derived from audited financial statements, include all adjustments necessary to present fairly Niska Partners’ financial position as of December 31, 2014, the results of Niska Partners’ operations for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, along with its cash flows for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 are not necessarily representative of the results to be expected for the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. The optimization of proprietary gas purchases is seasonal with the majority of the revenues and costs associated with the physical sale of proprietary gas generally occurring during the third and fourth fiscal quarters, when demand for natural gas is typically the strongest.

 

Pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the unaudited consolidated financial statements do not include all of the information and notes normally included with financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of Niska Partners and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014.

 

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Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

2. Commitments and Contingencies

 

Commitments

 

Niska Partners has entered into non-cancelable operating leases for temporary pressure-support gas, office space, land-use rights at its operating facilities, storage capacity at other facilities, equipment, and vehicles used in its operations. The remaining lease terms expire between February 2015 and February 2058 and require the payment of taxes, insurance and maintenance by the lessee.

 

Contingencies

 

Niska Partners and its subsidiaries are subject to various legal proceedings and actions arising in the normal course of business. While the outcome of such legal proceedings and actions cannot be predicted with certainty, it is the view of management that the resolution of such proceedings and actions will not have a material impact on Niska Partners’ unaudited consolidated financial position or results of operations.

 

3. Recent Accounting Pronouncement

 

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 (“ASU 2014-09”), Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). Under the new rules, an entity will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects what it expects to receive in exchange for the goods or services. The rules also require more detailed disclosures related to the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. These rules are effective for interim and annual periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016. Management is currently evaluating the impact of the pending adoption of ASU 2014-09 on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and has not yet determined the method by which it will adopt the standard in 2018.

 

4. Property, Plant and Equipment

 

On July 15, 2014, Niska Partners entered into an agreement with Talisman Energy Canada whereby, for an immaterial amount of consideration, the Company acquired the necessary reservoir, storage and land interests to develop a natural gas storage facility in northwestern Alberta, Canada. If developed, the project will have a working gas storage capacity of approximately 55 billion cubic feet (“Bcf”), expandable up to 70 Bcf (the “Sundance Project”). The requisite underlying regulatory approvals have been obtained from the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Sundance Project has significant access to pipeline infrastructure and the associated western Canadian markets.

 

5. Goodwill

 

Niska Partners is required to perform an annual impairment test with respect to the valuation of its goodwill, a test which is performed at the Company’s fiscal year end of March 31.  However, the Company is also required to evaluate on an interim basis whether there are factors which indicate that economic and/or business conditions have deteriorated such that the value of its goodwill has declined since its most recent annual test.  During the three months ended December 31, 2014, the Company concluded that a number of factors, including the continued narrow difference between summer and winter prices in the natural gas futures market,  combined with a significant reduction in natural gas price volatility and a significant decline in the Company’s equity market capitalization were impairment indicators.  Management is unable to predict whether these factors will reverse in periods beyond the current fiscal year.  Therefore, management performed an interim goodwill impairment test.

 

6



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

5. Goodwill (continued)

 

The goodwill impairment test is performed at a reporting unit level.  Reporting units are identified and distinguished based on how the associated business is managed, taking into consideration the nature of services offered, the types of customer contracts entered into and the nature of the economic and regulatory environment.  Niska Partners has four reporting units (its AECO HubTM facility in Alberta, its Wild Goose facility in California, its Salt Plains facility in Oklahoma and its contractual capacity on the Natural Gas Pipeline of America (“NGPL”) system).  These reporting units are aggregated into one operating segment for financial reporting purposes.  Prior to the impairment test, Niska Partners’ total goodwill of $245.6 million was recorded at the AECO HubTM facility ($228.0 million) and the NGPL capacity ($17.6 million).  There was no goodwill recorded at the Wild Goose or Salt Plains facilities.

 

The performance of the impairment test involves a two step process.  The first step determines whether an impairment exists by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the estimated fair value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, no impairment is necessary. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value, the second step measures the amount of impairment by comparing the implied fair value of the reporting unit goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. An entity assigns the fair value of a reporting unit to all of the assets and liabilities of that unit as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination. The excess of the fair value of a reporting unit over the amounts assigned to its assets and liabilities is the implied fair value of goodwill.

 

The Company determined the fair value of the AECO HubTM and NGPL reporting units using a combination of the present value of future cash flows method and the comparable transactions method. The present value of future cash flows was estimated using: (i) discrete financial forecasts, which rely on management’s estimates of revenue, expenses and volumes; (ii) long-term natural gas volatility and seasonal spreads; (iii) long-term average exchange rates between the United States dollar and the Canadian dollar; and (iv) appropriate discount rates. The comparable transactions method analyzed other purchases of similar assets and considered: (i) the anticipated cash flows of the Company determined above; (ii) recent transaction multiples based on anticipated cash flows; and (iii) the similarity of comparable transactions to the Company’s facilities.  Specifically, the Company used experience and forecasted amounts to estimate cycling volumes and expenses, the future summer to winter spreads which reflects its longer-term outlook, and extrinsic values consistent with those achieved in the business to estimate future revenue.  The Company also used a comparable transaction multiple consistent with recent transactions for depleted reservoir storage facility acquisitions (the type of facilities comparable to the Company’s AECO HubTM facility).  Both the AECO HubTM and the NGPL reporting units failed step one of the goodwill impairment test; therefore, the second step of impairment test was performed.

 

In step two, the Company compared the implied fair value of each reporting unit’s goodwill with the respective carrying amount of that goodwill. Under step two of the impairment test, significant assumptions in measuring the fair value of the assets and liabilities include: (i) the replacement cost, depreciation and obsolescence and useful lives of property, plant and equipment; and (ii) the present value of incremental cash flows attributable to certain intangible assets. Based on the step two analysis, the Company determined its goodwill balance was fully impaired.

 

The allocation of goodwill balances and related impairment charges by reporting unit consists of the following:

 

 

 

AECO Hub TM

 

NGPL Leased Capacity

 

Total

 

Balance, April 1, 2014

 

$

228,004

 

$

17,600

 

$

245,604

 

Impairment charges

 

(228,004

)

(17,600

)

(245,604

)

Balance, December 31, 2014

 

$

 

$

 

$

 

 

The Company also considered the goodwill impairment an indicator of impairment related to the long-lived assets associated with the AECO HubTM facility. Accordingly, these assets were evaluated for impairment prior to completing the goodwill valuation and management concluded that it was more likely than not that no impairment of other long-lived assets had occurred.

 

7



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

6. Debt

 

Niska Partners’ debt obligations consist of the following:

 

 

 

December 31,

 

March 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Notes due 2019

 

$

575,000

 

$

575,000

 

Revolving credit facilities

 

240,500

 

119,500

 

Total

 

815,500

 

694,500

 

Less portion classified as current

 

(240,500

)

(119,500

)

 

 

$

575,000

 

$

575,000

 

 

Senior Notes due 2019

 

In March 2014, Niska Partners completed a private placement of senior unsecured notes due 2019 (the “6.50% Senior Notes” or “Notes”) through its subsidiaries Niska Gas Storage Finance Corp. and Niska Gas Storage Canada ULC (together, the “Issuers”). The 6.50% Senior Notes are senior unsecured obligations which are: (1) effectively junior to Niska Partners’ secured obligations to the extent of the value of the collateral securing such debt; (2) equal in right of payment with all existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness of the Company; and (3) senior in right of payment to any future subordinated indebtedness of Niska Partners. The 6.50% Senior Notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Niska Partners and certain of its direct and indirect subsidiaries on a senior unsecured basis, and are: (1) effectively junior to each guarantor’s secured obligations; (2) equal in right of payment with all existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness of each guarantor; and (3) senior in right of payment to any future subordinated indebtedness of each guarantor.

 

Interest on the 6.50% Senior Notes is payable semi-annually on October 1 and April 1, and will mature on April 1, 2019. As of December 31, 2014, the estimated fair market value of the Notes was $439.9 million.

 

Prior to October 1, 2016, the Company has the option to redeem up to 35% of the aggregate principal amount of the 6.50% Senior Notes using net cash proceeds from certain equity offerings at a price of 106.5% plus accrued and unpaid interest. The Company may also redeem all or a part of the 6.50% Senior Notes at redemption prices (expressed as percentages of principal amount) equal to 103.25% during the twelve-month period beginning on October 1, 2016, 101.625% during the twelve-month period beginning on October 1, 2017 and at par beginning on October 1, 2018, plus accrued and unpaid interest. The Company is not required to make mandatory redemptions or sinking fund payments with respect to the 6.50% Senior Notes.

 

The indenture governing the 6.50% Senior Notes limits Niska Partners’ ability to pay distributions in respect of, repurchase or pay dividends on its membership interests (or other capital stock) or make other restricted payments. The limitation changes depending on a fixed charge coverage ratio, which is defined as the ratio of consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to fixed charges, each as defined in the indenture governing the 6.50% Senior Notes, and measured for the preceding four quarters.

 

If the fixed charge coverage ratio is not less than 1.75 to 1.0, Niska Partners is permitted to make restricted payments if the aggregate restricted payments since the date of closing of our IPO, excluding certain types of permitted payments, are less than the sum of a number of items including, most importantly:

 

·                  operating surplus (defined similarly to the definition in our Operating Agreement) calculated as of the end of our preceding fiscal quarter; and

 

·                  the aggregate net cash proceeds received as a capital contribution or from the issuance of equity interests.

 

8



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

6. Debt (continued)

 

Senior Notes due 2019 (continued)

 

If the fixed charge coverage ratio is less than 1.75 to 1.0, Niska Partners is permitted to make restricted payments if the aggregate restricted payments since the date of closing of its IPO, excluding certain types of permitted payments, are less than the sum of a number of items including, most importantly:

 

·                  $75.0 million; and

 

·                  the aggregate net cash proceeds received as a capital contribution or from the issuance of equity interests.

 

As of December 31, 2014, the fixed charge coverage ratio was 2.0 to 1.0 and the indenture governing the Notes would have permitted the Company to distribute approximately $377.0 million. The fixed charge amount used in the calculation of fixed charge coverage ratio was calculated on a pro-forma basis, taking into account the redemption of the 8.875% Senior Notes due 2018 as if the redemption had occurred on January 1, 2014. The indenture does not prohibit certain types or amounts of restricted payments, including a general basket of $75.0 million of restricted payments.

 

The indenture governing the Notes contains certain other covenants that, among other things, limit Niska Partners and certain of its subsidiaries’ ability to:

 

·                  incur additional debt or issue certain capital stock;

 

·                  pay dividends on, repurchase or make distributions in respect of its capital stock or repurchase or retire subordinated indebtedness;

 

·                  make certain investments;

 

·                  sell assets;

 

·                  create liens;

 

·                  consolidate, merge, sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its assets;

 

·                  enter into certain transactions with its affiliates; and

 

·                  permit restrictions on the ability of its subsidiaries to make distributions.

 

The occurrence of events involving the Company or certain of its subsidiaries may constitute an event of default under the indenture. Such events include failure to pay interest, principal, or the premium on the notes when due; failure to comply with the merger, asset sale or change of control covenants; certain defaults on other indebtedness; and certain insolvency proceedings. In the case of an event of default, the holders of the notes are entitled to remedies, including the acceleration of payment of the notes by request of the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the notes, and any action by the trustee to collect payment of principal, interest or premium in arrears.

 

9



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

6. Debt (continued)

 

Senior Notes due 2019 (continued)

 

Upon the occurrence of a change of control together with a decrease in the ratings of the 6.50% Senior Notes by either Moody’s or S&P by one or more gradations within 90 days of the change of control event, Niska Partners must offer to repurchase the Notes at 101% of the principal amount of the notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to the date of repurchase.

 

The Company’s ability to repurchase the 6.50% Senior Notes upon a change of control will be limited by the terms of its debt agreements, including its asset-based revolving credit facility. In addition, the Company cannot assure that it will have the financial resources to repurchase the Notes upon a change of control.

 

$400 Million Credit Agreement

 

Niska Partners, through its subsidiaries, Niska Gas Storage US, LLC and AECO Gas Storage Partnership, has senior secured asset-based revolving credit facilities, consisting of a U.S. revolving credit facility and a Canadian revolving credit facility, both of which are governed by a credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement” or the “$400 million Credit Agreement”). Each revolving credit facility matures on June 29, 2016.

 

As of December 31, 2014, $240.5 million in borrowings, with a weighted average interest rate of 3.67% (March 31, 2014 - $119.5 million of borrowings had a weighted average interest rate of 3.56%), were outstanding under the credit facilities. Amounts committed in support of letters of credit totaled $21.7 million at December 31, 2014 (March 31, 2014 - $4.8 million). Any borrowings under the $400 million Credit Agreement are classified as current.

 

The Credit Agreement provides that Niska Partners may borrow only up to the lesser of the level of the then current borrowing base or the committed maximum borrowing capacity, which is currently $400.0 million. As of December 31, 2014, the borrowing base collateral totaled $361.1 million.

 

The $400 million Credit Agreement contains limitations on Niska Partners’ ability to incur additional debt or to pay distributions in respect of, repurchase or pay distributions on its membership interests (or other capital stock) or make other restricted payments. These limitations are similar to those contained in the indenture governing the 6.50% Senior Notes, but contain certain substantive differences.

 

The credit agreement also includes a covenant that requires the maintenance of a fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.1 to 1.0 at the end of each fiscal quarter when excess availability under both revolving credit facilities is less than 15% of the aggregate amount of availability under both revolving credit facilities.  When the Company’s fixed charge coverage ratio is below 1.1 to 1.0, the Company will be unable to borrow the last 15% of availability under the revolving credit facility without triggering an event of default.  The credit agreement provides that, upon the occurrence of certain events of default, including a covenant default, the Company’s obligations thereunder may be accelerated and the lending commitments terminated.

 

As of December 31, 2014, Niska Partners was in compliance with all covenant requirements under the indenture governing the 6.50% Senior Notes and the $400 million Credit Agreement.

 

Niska Partners has no independent assets or operations other than its investments in its subsidiaries. Both the 6.50% Senior Notes and the $400 million Credit Agreement have been jointly and severally guaranteed by Niska Partners and substantially all of its subsidiaries. Niska Partners’ subsidiaries have no significant restrictions on their ability to pay distributions or make loans to Niska Partners and have no restricted assets as of December 31, 2014.

 

10



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

7. Risk Management Activities and Financial Instruments

 

Risk Management Overview

 

Niska Partners has exposure to commodity price, foreign currency, counterparty credit, interest rate and liquidity risks. Risk management activities are tailored to the risks they are designed to mitigate.

 

Commodity Price Risk

 

As a result of its natural gas inventory, Niska Partners is exposed to risks associated with changes in price when buying and selling natural gas across future time periods. To manage these risks and reduce variability of cash flows, the Company utilizes a combination of financial and physical derivative contracts, including forwards, futures, swaps and option contracts. The use of these contracts is subject to the Company’s risk management policies. These contracts have not been treated as hedges for financial reporting purposes and therefore changes in fair value are recorded directly in earnings.

 

Forward contracts and futures contracts are agreements to purchase or sell a specific financial instrument or quantity of natural gas at a specified price and date in the future. Niska Partners enters into forward contracts and futures contracts to mitigate the impact of changes in natural gas prices. In addition to cash settlement, exchange traded futures may also be settled by the physical delivery of natural gas.

 

Swap contracts are agreements between two parties to exchange streams of payments over time according to specified terms. Swap contracts require receipt of payment for the notional quantity of the commodity based on the difference between a fixed price and the market price on the settlement date. Niska Partners enters into commodity swaps to mitigate the impact of changes in natural gas prices.

 

Option contracts are contractual agreements to convey the right, but not the obligation, for the purchaser of the option to buy or sell a specific physical or notional amount of a commodity at a fixed price, either at a fixed date or at any time within a specified period. Niska Partners enters into option agreements to mitigate the impact of changes in natural gas prices.

 

To limit its exposure to changes in commodity prices, Niska Partners enters into purchases and sales of natural gas inventory and concurrently matches the volumes in these transactions with offsetting derivative contracts. To comply with its internal risk management policies, Niska Partners is required to limit its exposure of unmatched volumes of proprietary current natural gas inventory to an aggregate overall limit of 8.0 Bcf. At December 31, 2014, 60.3 Bcf of natural gas inventory was offset with financial contracts, representing 98.7% of total inventory. At March 31, 2014, 18.4 Bcf of natural gas inventory was offset with financial contracts, representing 97.2% of total inventory. As of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014, the volumes of inventories which were economically hedged using each type of contract were:

 

 

 

December 31,

 

March 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forwards

 

2.8 Bcf

 

(1.4) Bcf

 

Futures

 

57.5 Bcf

 

20.1 Bcf

 

Swaps

 

 

(0.3) Bcf

 

Options

 

 

 

 

 

60.3 Bcf

 

18.4 Bcf

 

 

11



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

7. Risk Management Activities and Financial Instruments (continued)

 

Counterparty Credit Risk

 

Niska Partners is exposed to counterparty credit risk on its trade and accrued accounts receivable and risk management assets. Counterparty credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the Company if a customer fails to perform its contractual obligations. Niska Partners engages in transactions for the purchase and sale of products and services with major companies in the energy industry and with industrial, commercial, residential and municipal energy consumers. Credit risk associated with trade accounts receivable is mitigated by the high percentage of investment grade customers, collateral support of receivables and Niska Partners’ ability to take ownership of customer owned natural gas stored in its facilities in the event of non-payment. For the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, no doubtful accounts expense was recognized as a result of receivables deemed to be uncollectible. It is management’s opinion that allowance for doubtful accounts of $ nil and $0.4 million were required as of December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014, respectively, on the Company’s accrued and trade accounts receivable.

 

The Company analyzes the financial condition of counterparties prior to entering into an agreement. Credit limits are established and monitored on an ongoing basis. Management believes, based on its credit policies, that the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows will not be materially affected as a result of non-performance by any single counterparty. Credit risk is assessed prior to transacting with any counterparty and each counterparty is required to maintain an investment grade rating, provide a parental guarantee from an investment grade parent, or provide an alternative method of financial assurance (letter of credit, cash, etc.) to support proposed transactions. In addition, the Company’s tariffs contain provisions that permit it to take title to a customer’s inventory should the customer’s account remain unpaid for an extended period of time. Although the Company relies on a few counterparties for a significant portion of its revenues, one counterparty making up 58.2% and 40.5% of gross revenues for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, is a physical natural gas clearing and settlement facility that requires counterparties to post margin deposits equal to 125% of their net position, which reduces the risk of default.

 

Exchange traded futures and options comprise approximately 80.6% of Niska Partners’ commodity risk management assets at December 31, 2014. These exchange traded contracts have minimal credit exposure as the exchanges guarantee that every contract will be margined on a daily basis. In the event of any default, Niska Partners’ account on the exchange would be absorbed by other clearing members. Because every member posts an initial margin, the exchange can protect the exchange members if or when a clearing member defaults.

 

Niska Partners further manages credit exposure by entering into master netting agreements for the majority of non-retail contracts. These master netting agreements provide the Company, in the event of default, the right to offset the counterparty’s rights and obligations.

 

Interest Rate Risk

 

Niska Partners assesses interest rate risk by continually identifying and monitoring changes in interest rate exposures that may adversely impact expected future cash flows. At December 31, 2014, Niska Partners was exposed to interest rate risk resulting from the variable rates associated with its $400 million Credit Agreement of which $240.5 million was drawn.

 

Liquidity Risk

 

Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they become due. Niska Partners continues to manage its liquidity risk by ensuring sufficient cash and credit facilities are available to meet its operating and capital expenditure obligations when due, under both normal and stressed conditions.

 

12



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

7. Risk Management Activities and Financial Instruments (continued)

 

Foreign Currency Risk

 

Foreign currency risk is created by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. As Niska Partners conducts a portion of its activities in Canadian dollars, earnings and cash flows are subject to currency fluctuations. The performance of the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar could positively or negatively affect earnings. Niska Partners is exposed to cash flow risk to the extent that Canadian currency outflows exceed Canadian currency inflows. The Company enters into currency swaps to mitigate the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates. The notional value of currency swaps at December 31, 2014 was $26.9 million (March 31, 2014 - $13.0 million). These contracts expire on various dates from January 1, 2015 through June 1, 2016. Niska Partners has not elected hedge accounting treatment, therefore, changes in fair value are recorded directly in earnings.

 

The following tables show the fair values of Niska Partners’ risk management assets and liabilities at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014:

 

 

 

Energy

 

Currency

 

 

 

December 31, 2014 

 

Contracts

 

Contracts

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short-term risk management assets

 

$

75,604

 

$

1,393

 

$

76,997

 

Long-term risk management assets

 

23,538

 

512

 

24,050

 

Short-term risk management liabilities

 

(40,112

)

 

(40,112

)

Long-term risk management liabilities

 

(18,367

)

 

(18,367

)

 

 

$

40,663

 

$

1,905

 

$

42,568

 

 

 

 

Energy

 

Currency

 

 

 

March 31, 2014 

 

Contracts

 

Contracts

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short-term risk management assets

 

$

18,939

 

$

2,010

 

$

20,949

 

Long-term risk management assets

 

4,260

 

546

 

4,806

 

Short-term risk management liabilities

 

(18,945

)

(160

)

(19,105

)

Long-term risk management liabilities

 

(12,209

)

 

(12,209

)

 

 

$

(7,955

)

$

2,396

 

$

(5,559

)

 

13



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

7. Risk Management Activities and Financial Instruments (continued)

 

Information about the Company’s risk management assets and liabilities that had netting or rights of offset arrangements is as follows:

 

December 31, 2014 

 

Gross Amounts 
Recognized

 

Gross Amounts
Offset in the
Balance Sheet

 

Net Amounts
Presented in
the Balance
Sheet

 

Margin
Deposits not
Offset in the
Balance Sheet

 

Net Amounts

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

$

280,764

 

$

(181,622

)

$

99,142

 

$

(80,539

)

$

18,603

 

Currency derivatives

 

2,681

 

(776

)

1,905

 

(940

)

965

 

Total assets

 

283,445

 

(182,398

)

101,047

 

(81,479

)

19,568

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

240,101

 

(181,622

)

58,479

 

(52,583

)

5,896

 

Currency derivatives

 

776

 

(776

)

 

 

 

Total liabilities

 

240,877

 

(182,398

)

58,479

 

(52,583

)

5,896

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

$

42,568

 

$

 

$

42,568

 

$

(28,896

)

$

13,672

 

 

March 31, 2014 

 

Gross Amounts
Recognized

 

Gross Amounts
Offset in the
Balance Sheet

 

Net Amounts
Presented in
the Balance
Sheet

 

Margin
Deposits not
Offset in the
Balance Sheet

 

Net Amounts

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

$

113,175

 

$

(89,976

)

$

23,199

 

$

(15,101

)

$

8,098

 

Currency derivatives

 

2,851

 

(295

)

2,556

 

(2,556

)

 

Total assets

 

116,026

 

(90,271

)

25,755

 

(17,657

)

8,098

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

121,130

 

(89,976

)

31,154

 

(21,705

)

9,449

 

Currency derivatives

 

455

 

(295

)

160

 

(160

)

 

Total liabilities

 

121,585

 

(90,271

)

31,314

 

(21,865

)

9,449

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net

 

$

(5,559

)

$

 

$

(5,559

)

$

4,208

 

$

(1,351

)

 

14



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

7. Risk Management Activities and Financial Instruments (continued)

 

The Company expects to recognize risk management assets and liabilities outstanding at December 31, 2014 into net earnings and comprehensive income in the fiscal periods as follows:

 

 

 

Energy

 

Currency

 

 

 

 

 

Contracts

 

Contracts

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal year ending March 31, 2015

 

$

22,153

 

$

271

 

$

22,424

 

Fiscal year ending March 31, 2016

 

12,573

 

1,122

 

13,695

 

Fiscal year ending March 31, 2017

 

4,486

 

512

 

4,998

 

Thereafter

 

1,451

 

 

1,451

 

 

 

$

40,663

 

$

1,905

 

$

42,568

 

 

Net realized and unrealized optimization gains and losses from the settlement of risk management contracts are summarized as follows:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

Classification

 

Energy contracts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realized

 

$

3,785

 

$

(559

)

$

18,864

 

$

7,131

 

Optimization, net

 

Unrealized

 

47,546

 

(29,803

)

48,618

 

(22,947

)

Optimization, net

 

Currency contracts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realized

 

277

 

116

 

1,342

 

1,712

 

Optimization, net

 

Unrealized

 

732

 

870

 

(491

)

500

 

Optimization, net

 

 

 

$

52,340

 

$

(29,376

)

$

68,333

 

$

(13,604

)

 

 

 

15



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

8. Fair Value Measurements

 

The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents, margin deposits, trade receivables, accrued receivables, trade payables and accrued liabilities reported on the unaudited consolidated balance sheet approximate fair value.

 

Fair values have been determined as follows for Niska Partners financial assets and liabilities that were accounted for or disclosed at fair value on a recurring basis:

 

December 31, 2014 

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

$

 

$

99,142

 

$

 

$

99,142

 

Currency derivatives

 

 

1,905

 

 

1,905

 

Goodwill

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

$

 

$

101,047

 

$

 

$

101,047

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

$

 

$

58,479

 

$

 

$

58,479

 

Currency derivatives

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term debt

 

 

439,875

 

 

439,875

 

Total liabilities

 

$

 

$

498,354

 

$

 

$

498,354

 

 

March 31, 2014 

 

Level 1

 

Level 2

 

Level 3

 

Total

 

Assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

$

 

$

23,199

 

$

 

$

23,199

 

Currency derivatives

 

 

2,556

 

 

2,556

 

Total assets

 

$

 

$

25,755

 

$

 

$

25,755

 

Liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commodity derivatives

 

$

 

$

31,154

 

$

 

$

31,154

 

Currency derivatives

 

 

160

 

 

160

 

Long-term debt

 

 

570,700

 

 

570,700

 

Total liabilities

 

$

 

$

602,014

 

$

 

$

602,014

 

 

The Company’s derivative assets and liabilities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis have been categorized as Level 2. The determination of the fair value of assets and liabilities for Level 2 valuations is generally based on a market approach. The key inputs used in Niska Partners’ valuation models include transaction-specific details such as notional volumes, contract prices and contract terms as well as forward market prices and basis differentials for natural gas obtained from third-party service providers (typically the New York Mercantile Exchange, or NYMEX). There were no changes in Niska Partners’ approach to determining fair value and there were no transfers out of Level 2 during the periods ended December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014.

 

The fair value of debt is the estimated amount the Company would have to pay to transfer its debt, including any premium or discount attributable to the difference between the stated interest rate and market rate of interest at the balance sheet date. Fair values are supported by observable market transactions when available.

 

Non-financial assets and liabilities are re-measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis.  During the three-months ended December 31, 2014, the Company wrote down goodwill to its estimated fair value of $nil, which is classified as a Level 3 measurement in the table above.  There were no other non-financial assets or liabilities recorded at fair value as of December 31, 2014.

 

16



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

9. Members’ Equity

 

Equity Restructuring

 

On April 2, 2013, Niska Partners completed an equity restructuring with affiliates of the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds. In the restructuring, all of the Company’s 33.8 million subordinated units and previous incentive distribution rights (all of which were owned by the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds) were combined into and restructured as a new class of incentive distribution rights. The equity restructuring, which did not require any further consents or approvals, was effective as of the same day. The transaction was unanimously approved by the Company’s Board of Directors on the unanimous approval and recommendation of its Conflicts Committee, which is composed solely of independent directors.

 

The restructuring permanently eliminated all of the Company’s subordinated units and previous incentive distribution rights in return for the IDRs. Prior to completion of the restructuring, the Company would have been required to pay the full minimum quarterly distribution of $0.35 per unit on the subordinated units (requiring additional distributions of approximately $12 million per quarter) prior to increasing the quarterly distribution on common units. Quarterly distributions on the subordinated units had not been paid since the quarter ended September 30, 2011.

 

The IDRs entitle the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds to receive 48% of any quarterly cash distributions after Niska Partners’ common unit holders have received the full minimum quarterly distribution ($0.35 per unit) for each quarter plus any arrearages from prior quarters (of which there are currently none). The previous incentive distribution rights entitled the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds to receive increasing percentages (ranging from 13% to 48%) of incremental cash distributions after the unit holders (both common and subordinated) exceeded quarterly distributions ranging from $0.4025 per unit to $0.5250 per unit. In addition, for a period of five years, and provided that the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds continue to own a majority of both the managing member and the IDRs, the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds will be deemed to own 33.8 million “Notional Subordinated Units” in connection with votes to remove and replace the managing member. These Notional Subordinated Units are not entitled to distributions, but preserve the Carlyle/Riverstone Fund’s voting rights with respect to removal of the managing member.

 

Distribution Reinvestment Plan

 

During the nine months ended December 31, 2014, unitholders, substantially all of which were comprised of the Carlyle/Riverstone Funds, elected to participate in the distribution reinvestment plan and were issued 2,243,664 common units (nine months ended December 31, 2013 — 808,955 common units) in lieu of receiving cash distributions of $19.6 million (nine months ended December 31, 2013 — $12.0 million).

 

Class D Partnership Units

 

On May 7, 2014, Niska Holdings L.P. (the “Sponsor Partnership”), the parent of Niska Sponsor Holdings Coöperatief U.A. (which is the direct and indirect parent of the Company) awarded non-voting Class D Units in the Sponsor Partnership (the “Class D Units”) to certain executives. The Class D Units are profits interest awards which have a service condition. As the Class D Units were issued to employees and a director, equity-classified compensation expense has been recorded in the Company’s financial statements.

 

The Class D Units entitle the holders thereof to 15% of distributions made by the Sponsor Partnership to its Class A unitholders after its Class A unitholders receive distributions made by the Sponsor Partnership after May 17, 2014 in excess of the amount of any capital contributions made by the Class A unitholders after May 17, 2014 plus $331.0 million, each increased by 8% per annum compounded quarterly. The Sponsor Partnership will retain distributions (other than tax distributions) in respect of unvested Class D Units until such Class D Units vest. Of the awarded Class D Units, 20% will vest on May 6, 2015. The remaining unvested units will vest at a rate of 5% on the last day of each fiscal quarter during the period commencing on June 30, 2015 and ending on March 31, 2019. The units have no expiry date provided the employee remains employed with the Sponsor Partnership, the Company or one or more of their respective subsidiaries. The fair value of the Class D Units is based on an enterprise value, with allocations of that value calculated under the terms of Niska Holdings L.P.’s operating agreement.

 

17



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

9. Members’ Equity (continued)

 

Class D Partnership Units (continued)

 

For the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, non-cash compensation expense amounted to $nil and $0.5 million, respectively, related to the Class D Units.

 

Unit-Based Performance Plan

 

The Company maintains a compensatory unit-based performance plan (“the Plan”) to provide long-term incentive compensation for certain employees and directors and to align their economic interest with those of common unitholders.  The Plan permits the grant of unit awards, restricted units, phantom units, unit options, unit appreciation rights, other unit-based awards, distribution equivalent rights and substitution awards covering an aggregate of 3,380,474 units.  As of December 31, 2014, there were 425,926 units (March 31, 2014 - 1,483,708 units) available for grant.

 

Unit-based awards that are expected to be settled in cash are classified as liabilities. The fair value of the units granted is determined on the date of grant and is re-measured at each reporting period until the settlement date. The fair value at each re-measurement date is equal to the settlement expected to be incurred based on the anticipated number of units vested adjusted for (i) the passage of time and (ii) the payout threshold associated with the performance targets which the Company expects to achieve compared to its established peers. The pro-rata number of units vested is calculated as the number of performance awards multiplied by the percentage of the requisite service period.

 

Unit-based awards that are expected to be settled in units are classified as equity.  The fair value of the units granted is determined on the date of grant and is amortized to equity using the straight-line method over the vesting period.  Each equity settled award permits the holder to receive one common unit on the vesting date.

 

All of the granted unit-based awards have the right to receive additional units in lieu of cash distributions paid on the outstanding units.  The typical vesting period ranges from two to three years from the date of grant.

 

The following tables summarize the Company’s unit-based awards outstanding and nonvested unit-based awards as of December 31, 2014:

 

 

 

Number of Time-
Based Units

 

Number of
Performance-Based
Units

 

Total Units

 

Unit-based awards outstanding - March 31, 2014

 

835,360

 

487,200

 

1,322,560

 

Granted

 

914,045

 

 

914,045

 

Exercised

 

(501,883

)

(238,204

)

(740,087

)

Forfeited

 

(161,597

)

(64,638

)

(226,235

)

Distribution equivalent rights

 

113,416

 

30,321

 

143,737

 

Unit-based awards outstanding - December 31, 2014

 

1,199,341

 

214,679

 

1,414,020

 

 

18



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

9. Members’ Equity (continued)

 

Unit Based Performance Plan (continued)

 

 

 

Number of Time-
Based Units

 

Number of
Performance-Based
Units

 

Total Units

 

Nonvested unit-based awards - March 31, 2014

 

466,858

 

312,764

 

779,622

 

Granted

 

914,045

 

 

914,045

 

Vested

 

(133,380

)

(63,769

)

(197,149

)

Forfeited

 

(159,737

)

(62,778

)

(222,515

)

Distribution equivalent rights

 

111,555

 

28,462

 

140,017

 

Nonvested unit-based awards December 31, 2014

 

1,199,341

 

214,679

 

1,414,020

 

 

As of December 31, 2014, there was $5.9 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested unit-based awards granted that were subject to both time and performance conditions. This cost is expected to be recognized over the next three years.

 

Information on the weighted average unit price at grant date and number of unit-based awards granted is as follows:

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

Weighted average price per unit at grant date

 

$

9.43

 

$

12.68

 

Number of unit based awards granted

 

914,045

 

438,036

 

 

Compensation related to unit-based awards for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 included recoveries of $2.1 million and  $1.7 million, respectively (expenses of $2.1 million and $8.7 million for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013, respectively). Amounts paid to employees for unit-based awards settled in cash for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 was $10.6 million and $2.3 million, respectively.  No equity awards were settled during the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.

 

19



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

9. Members’ Equity (continued)

 

Earnings per unit:

 

Niska Partners uses the two-class method for allocating earnings per unit. The two-class method requires the determination of net earnings (loss) allocated to member interests as shown below.

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss) attributable to Niska Partners

 

$

(259,623

)

$

(13,409

)

$

(307,426

)

$

(13,286

)

Less:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managing Member’s interest

 

4,677

 

260

 

5,573

 

256

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss) attributable to common unitholders

 

$

(254,946

)

$

(13,149

)

$

(301,853

)

$

(13,030

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average units outstanding

 

37,245,225

 

35,077,239

 

36,520,746

 

34,756,989

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average units outstanding

 

37,245,225

 

35,077,239

 

36,520,746

 

34,756,989

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earnings (loss) per unit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

(6.85

)

$

(0.37

)

$

(8.27

)

$

(0.37

)

Diluted

 

$

(6.85

)

$

(0.37

)

$

(8.27

)

$

(0.37

)

 

10. Revenues

 

Niska Partners’ fee-based revenue consists of the following:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term contract revenue

 

$

13,373

 

$

21,278

 

$

67,956

 

$

62,161

 

Short-term contract revenue

 

2,255

 

9,206

 

6,059

 

32,990

 

Total

 

$

15,628

 

$

30,484

 

$

74,015

 

$

95,151

 

 

Long-term contract revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 included a one-time contract termination payment of $26.0 million as a result of the termination by TransCanada Gas Storage Partnership (“TransCanada”), the Company’s largest volumetric customer, of its previous storage service agreement.

 

20



Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

10. Revenues (continued)

 

Optimization, net consists of the following:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realized optimization revenue, net

 

$

7,013

 

$

24,296

 

$

25,244

 

$

47,193

 

Unrealized risk management gains (losses)

 

48,278

 

(28,933

)

48,127

 

(22,447

)

Write-downs of inventory

 

(31,700

)

 

(42,200

)

 

Total

 

$

23,591

 

$

(4,637

)

$

31,171

 

$

24,746

 

 

The Company’s inventory is valued at the lower of weighted-average cost or market.  With the expected realization of losses positioned in the current fiscal year and the positioning of new hedges at lower values in future periods, the estimated market value of the Company’s inventories became less than its carrying cost. Accordingly, inventories were written down by $31.7 million and $42.2 million during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014.

 

11. Depreciation and Amortization

 

Depreciation and amortization for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 consists of the following:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation

 

$

38,419

 

$

7,821

 

$

86,461

 

$

23,444

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

2,928

 

2,658

 

20,788

 

7,624

 

Accretion of asset retirement obligations

 

405

 

39

 

481

 

81

 

Total

 

$

41,752

 

$

10,518

 

$

107,730

 

$

31,149

 

 

Depreciation for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 includes $31.2 million and $64.7 million, respectively (three and nine months ended December 31, 2013 - $ nil) related to migration of cushion gas at two of the Company’s facilities. The Company records a provision for migration when it has been determined that cushion gas is no longer providing effective cushion support.

 

Amortization of intangible assets for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 includes an amortization of $11.7 million (nine months ended December 31, 2013 - $ nil) related to the termination of the prior storage service agreement with TransCanada, to reflect the change in timing of cash flows related to this customer relationship. Amortization of customer relationships is expected to be $2.7 million for the remaining portion of the fiscal year.

 

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Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

12. Income Taxes

 

Income taxes included in the consolidated financial statements were as follows:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax benefit

 

$

(15,635

)

$

(6,309

)

$

(31,875

)

$

(6,561

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effective income tax rate

 

6

%

32

%

9

%

33

%

 

The income tax benefit increased by $25.3 million compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2013 due to an increase in losses recognized by the Canadian taxable entities, driven by the write-downs of inventory and migration of cushion gas. The tax benefit from the increased loss was partially offset by the impairment of goodwill, which is not a deductible expense for Canadian tax purposes and therefore does not impact taxable income.

 

The effective tax rate for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 differs from the U.S. statutory federal rate of 35% primarily due to the goodwill impairment, differences in Canadian statutory tax rates and earnings of non-taxable entities.

 

13. Accrued Liabilities

 

Niska Partners’ accrued liabilities consist of the following:

 

 

 

December 31,

 

March 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accrued gas purchases

 

$

23,091

 

$

75,454

 

Accrued interest

 

9,870

 

2,037

 

Employee-related accruals

 

2,696

 

22,315

 

Other accrued liabilities

 

5,415

 

11,312

 

 

 

$

41,072

 

$

111,118

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

14. Changes in Non-Cash Working Capital

 

Changes in non-cash working capital for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 consist of the following:

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margin deposits

 

$

29,434

 

$

(35,184

)

Trade receivables

 

2,769

 

(1,273

)

Accrued receivables

 

112,573

 

42,165

 

Natural gas inventory

 

(176,425

)

(99,043

)

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

(3,103

)

1,199

 

Other assets

 

(437

)

(88

)

Trade payables

 

(299

)

(218

)

Accrued liabilities

 

(67,187

)

24,222

 

Deferred revenue

 

(2,029

)

319

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

(634

)

(60

)

Total

 

$

(105,338

)

$

(67,961

)

 

15. Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest paid

 

$

27,658

 

$

32,484

 

Taxes (recovered) paid

 

$

(231

)

$

73

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-cash changes in working capital related to property,
plant and equipment

 

$

1,716

 

$

(1,993

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-cash earnings distribution and reinvestment

 

$

19,631

 

$

12,039

 

 

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Table of Contents

 

Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC

 

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

 

(Thousands of U.S. dollars, except per Unit amounts and unless otherwise noted)

 

16. Segment Disclosures

 

The Company’s process for the identification of reportable segments involves examining the nature of services offered, the types of customer contracts entered into and the nature of the economic and regulatory environment.

 

Niska Partners operates along functional lines in its commercial, engineering, and operations teams for operations in Alberta, Northern California and the U.S. Mid-continent. All functional lines and facilities offer the same services: fee-based revenue and optimization. The Company has a small retail marketing business which is an extension of the Company’s proprietary optimization activities. Proprietary optimization activities occur when the Company purchases, stores and sells natural gas for its own account in order to utilize or optimize storage capacity that is not contracted or available to third-party customers. All services are delivered using reservoir storage. The Company measures profitability consistently along all functional lines based on revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and unrealized risk management gains and losses. The Company has aggregated its operating segments into one reportable segment as at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2014 and for each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013.

 

Information pertaining to the Company’s short-term and long-term contract services and net optimization revenues is presented in the consolidated statements of earnings and comprehensive income. All facilities have the same types of customers: major companies in the energy industry, industrial, commercial, local distribution companies and municipal energy consumers.

 

The following tables summarize the net revenues and long lived assets by geographic area:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net realized revenues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S.

 

$

6,028

 

$

16,556

 

$

18,094

 

$

36,330

 

Canada

 

16,613

 

38,224

 

81,165

 

106,014

 

Net unrealized revenues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S.

 

29,989

 

(15,333

)

29,159

 

(9,025

)

Canada

 

18,289

 

(13,600

)

18,968

 

(13,422

)

Write-downs of inventory

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S.

 

(2,800

)

 

(9,200

)

 

Canada

 

(28,900

)

 

(33,000

)

 

Inter-entity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S.

 

1,703

 

 

1,703

 

 

Canada

 

(1,703

)

 

(1,703

)

 

 

 

$

39,219

 

$

25,847

 

$

105,186

 

$

119,897

 

 

 

 

December 31,

 

March 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2014

 

Long-lived assets (at period end)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S.

 

$

370,723

 

$

397,331

 

Canada

 

514,975

 

839,917

 

 

 

$

885,698

 

$

1,237,248

 

 

17. Subsequent events

 

On January 28 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors suspended the quarterly distribution to common unitholders.

 

24



Table of Contents

 

Item 2.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

The following information should be read in conjunction with our unaudited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in this report. The following information and such unaudited consolidated financial statements should also be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes, management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations and other information included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014.

 

Overview of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

The process of preparing financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires estimates and judgments to be made regarding certain items and transactions. It is possible that materially different amounts could be recorded if these estimates and judgments change or if the actual results differ from these estimates and judgments. Our most critical accounting estimates, which involve the judgment of our management, were fully disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 and remained unchanged as of December 31, 2014.

 

Overview of Our Business

 

We operate the AECO HubTM, which consists of the Countess and Suffield gas storage facilities in Alberta, Canada, and the Wild Goose and Salt Plains gas storage facilities in California and Oklahoma, respectively. Niska Partners markets gas storage services of working gas capacity in addition to optimizing storage capacity with its own proprietary gas purchases at each of these facilities. We also operate a natural gas marketing business which is an extension of our propriety optimization activities in Canada.

 

We earn revenues by leasing storage on a long-term firm (“LTF”) contract basis for which we receive monthly reservation fees for fixed amounts of storage, leasing storage on a short-term firm (“STF”) contract basis, where a customer pays a fixed fee to inject a specified quantity of natural gas on a specified date or dates and a fixed fee to withdraw on a specified future date or dates, and optimization, where we purchase and sell gas on an economically hedged basis in order to improve facility utilization at margins higher than those from third-party contracts. Proprietary optimization activities occur when the Company purchases and sells natural gas for its own account. Our revenues related to our marketing business are included in proprietary optimization activities.

 

The Company has a total of 250.5 billion cubic feet (“Bcf”) of working gas capacity among its facilities, including 8.5 Bcf leased from a third-party pipeline company.

 

We have aggregated all of our activities in one reportable operating segment for financial reporting purposes. Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP.

 

Factors that Impact Our Business

 

During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, the difference between summer and winter prices in the natural gas futures market, referred to as the seasonal spread, remained extremely narrow and low levels of volatility persisted. This is the result of numerous factors, including, but not limited to: (i) a material year-over-year increase in natural gas production in the Lower 48 states as well as in Western Canada; (ii) strong injections during the summer months, which resulted in storage filling faster than anticipated; (iii) warmer than normal weather in December, which allowed the market to eliminate the year-over-year deficit in storage inventory in the Lower 48 states; (iv) real or perceived changes in overall supply and demand fundamentals; and (v) the development of new pipeline infrastructure connecting new supply to markets. These market conditions have negatively impacted our revenues during the nine months ended December 31, 2014 by lowering demand for long-term firm contracting and eroding the prices we can charge for those services, as well as reducing the profitability of our short-term firm and optimization activities, where we make hedged natural gas purchases for our own account. In addition, volatility and the seasonal spread affect the price we charge for long and short-term contracts.  As long and short-term contracts expire in future years, new contracts could be entered into at lower rates than the expiring contracts, and the impact on revenues could be material. If low levels of volatility and narrow seasonal spreads persist, our future revenues and profitability will be adversely affected to a material extent.

 

The combination of reductions in natural gas prices, margin amounts required to support our retail marketing operations, costs associated with the requirements for temporary reservoir pressure support and unfavorable market conditions which have prevented us from realizing additional revenues and earnings have reduced the liquidity available under the Company’s $400 million revolving credit facility. Continued reduction in amounts available under the revolving credit facilities may restrict our ability to pursue optimization strategies. The inability to pursue such revenue strategies may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s revenues and profitability.

 

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Table of Contents

 

Market conditions for natural gas storage can change rapidly as a result of a number of factors, including weather patterns, overall storage levels across North America in the markets we serve, current and anticipated levels of natural gas supply and demand, and constraints on pipeline infrastructure capacity. Accordingly, current market conditions may not be a reliable predictor of future market conditions. In the shorter term, warmer weather patterns for the balance of this winter and higher supplies of natural gas during next summer’s injection season may contribute to an improvement in next year’s seasonal spread. Longer term, we believe several factors may contribute to meaningful growth in North American natural gas demand, including: (i) exports of North American Liquefied Natural Gas, or LNG; (ii) fuel switching for power generation from coal to natural gas; (iii) construction of new gas-fired power plants; (iv) growing exports to Mexico; and (v) growth in base-load industrial demand, all of which could bolster the demand for, and the commercial value of, natural gas storage. We are unable to predict the timing or magnitude of such events nor can we predict the ultimate impact they may have on our results of operations.

 

We are required to perform an annual impairment test with respect to the valuation of goodwill, a test which is generally performed at our fiscal year end of March 31. However, we are also required to evaluate on an interim basis whether there are factors which indicate that economic and/or business conditions have deteriorated such that the value of our goodwill has declined since our most recent annual test. During the three months ended December 31, 2014, we concluded that a number of factors, including the continued narrow seasonal spread combined with the significant reduction in natural gas price volatility, and a strong decline in our equity market capitalization were impairment indicators. We made this determination because these factors had a material negative effect on our current financial performance and our expected performance for the remainder of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. We are unable to predict whether these factors will reverse in periods beyond the current fiscal year. Therefore, we performed an interim goodwill impairment test. Based on the interim goodwill impairment test performed, we concluded the remaining balance of our goodwill was fully impaired, and therefore a non-cash impairment charge of $245.6 million was recorded.

 

Following a significant withdrawal of inventory during the winter 2014 storage season, we identified migration of our proprietary cushion gas at one of our facilities. Cushion gas migration occurs when hydrocarbons move to an area of the storage reservoir where it no longer provides effective support in cycling a facility’s working gas. During the second and third quarters additional migration occurred at our facilities. During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014, we recorded charges to depreciation expense of $31.2 million and $64.7 million, respectively, related to 3.0 Bcf and 6.2 Bcf of proprietary cushion gas estimated to have migrated at our facilities. We currently estimate that ongoing cushion gas migration could require an annual expenditure of approximately $6 million to $10 million. These estimates include assumptions about storage levels and cycling requirements which can vary significantly depending on operating conditions.

 

Our storage facilities may require additional natural gas to provide temporary pressure support during periods of high activity to meet cycling requirements and performance demands related to our gas in storage. These volumes fluctuate from year to year along with our cycling requirements. These cycling requirements are managed through a combination of strategies which are adapted to changes in natural gas market conditions. Typically, the use of gas to provide temporary pressure support results in net revenue gains because the cost to acquire natural gas in the nearer term is lower than the price of natural gas for future delivery.

 

Backwardation, a condition where the price of natural gas in the near term is higher than the price for future delivery, occurred in the winter and spring of 2014 and resulted in an increase in our costs to manage our cycling requirements through temporary pressure support. To mitigate the cost of our forecasted cycling requirements over the next 2 to 6 years, we implemented a hedging program to purchase and lease gas. The expected hedged cost of gas as part of this strategy, for gas to be used for pressure support over the next 2 to 6 years, is currently estimated to be $25 million to $30 million over a 6 year period. In the event that storage market conditions return to more favorable summer/winter differentials, the cost of managing our operational requirements could be reduced during that period.

 

In May 2014, we entered into a new contract with TransCanada Gas Storage Partnership, or TransCanada, our largest volumetric customer. This new contract replaced a previous storage agreement with TransCanada which provided TransCanada with approximately 40 Bcf of storage capacity at our AECO facilities and had a term that extended to 2030. Under the previous storage agreement both parties had the option to terminate at the end of defined five-year intervals, including April 1, 2015. TransCanada elected to terminate this agreement and entered into a new agreement with us which extends until 2020. The new agreement provides TransCanada with an initial storage capacity of approximately 40 Bcf which will be reduced to approximately 20 Bcf on April 1, 2017. By exercising its early termination rights, TransCanada was obligated to make an early termination payment to us of $26.0 million. This payment has been recognized in long-term firm revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2014. The new rates under the renegotiated contract are lower than the rate in effect for the current fiscal year and are expected to reduce LTF revenues by approximately $13 million in fiscal 2016 compared to revenues recognized in fiscal 2015.

 

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The Company’s functional currency is the U.S. dollar. The Company generates revenues from its Canadian operations in Canadian dollars. Cash inflows from revenues are offset, in part, by natural gas inventory purchases, operating, general and administrative and capital costs that are also transacted in Canadian dollars. The majority of the Company’s hedges are transacted in U.S. dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) or with private counterparties. The Company’s financial instruments, principally its Common Units, Senior Notes and Revolving Credit Facilities, are principally denominated in U.S. dollars. The Company hedges its net exposure to the Canadian dollar by entering into currency hedges for the substantial majority of net exposure for its transactions. The Company does not hedge its net Canadian dollar exposure for potential future transactions, because the timing and amount of those transactions, which include proprietary optimization purchases and sales, are difficult to predict. Niska does not believe that declines in the Canadian dollar have materially impacted the Company’s results of operations to date because of the Company’s hedging strategy and because the largest currency moves have been relatively recent.

 

In the intermediate term, any declines in value of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar will reduce cash flows measured in U.S. dollars to the extent Niska is not able to hedge these transactions in advance. Because of the matters discussed above, the Company is unable to predict the impact of any such declines should they occur.

 

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Results of Operations

 

A summary of financial data for each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 is as follows:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

Consolidated Statement of Earnings (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss) Data:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fee-based revenue

 

$

15,628

 

$

30,484

 

$

74,015

 

$

95,151

 

Optimization, net

 

23,591

 

(4,637

)

31,171

 

24,746

 

 

 

39,219

 

25,847

 

105,186

 

119,897

 

Expenses (income):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating

 

9,434

 

8,426

 

32,451

 

27,747

 

General and administrative

 

4,233

 

9,361

 

20,513

 

30,164

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

41,752

 

10,518

 

107,730

 

31,149

 

Interest

 

13,182

 

17,114

 

38,229

 

49,718

 

Impairment of goodwill

 

245,604

 

 

245,604

 

 

Foreign exchange losses

 

344

 

160

 

32

 

606

 

Other (income) expense

 

(72

)

(14

)

(72

)

360

 

Earnings (loss) before income taxes

 

(275,258

)

(19,718

)

(339,301

)

(19,847

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Income tax benefit

 

(15,635

)

(6,309

)

(31,875

)

(6,561

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss) and comprehensive income (loss)

 

$

(259,623

)

$

(13,409

)

$

(307,426

)

$

(13,286

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution to Net Earnings (Loss)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss)

 

$

(259,623

)

$

(13,409

)

$

(307,426

)

$

(13,286

)

Add/(deduct):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense

 

13,182

 

17,114

 

38,229

 

49,718

 

Income tax benefit

 

(15,635

)

(6,309

)

(31,875

)

(6,561

)

Depreciation and amortization

 

41,752

 

10,518

 

107,730

 

31,149

 

Non-cash compensation expense

 

444

 

 

1,687

 

 

Unrealized risk management (gains) losses

 

(48,278

)

28,933

 

(48,127

)

22,447

 

Impairment of goodwill

 

245,604

 

 

245,604

 

 

Foreign exchange losses

 

344

 

160

 

32

 

606

 

Other (income) expense

 

(72

)

(14

)

(72

)

360

 

Write-downs of inventory

 

31,700

 

 

42,200

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

 

9,418

 

36,993

 

47,982

 

84,433

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash interest expense, net

 

12,269

 

16,278

 

35,491

 

47,212

 

Income taxes (recovered) paid

 

(519

)

67

 

(231

)

73

 

Maintenance capital expenditures

 

1,780

 

123

 

3,240

 

1,082

 

Other (income) expense

 

(72

)

(14

)

(72

)

360

 

Cash Available for Distribution

 

$

(4,040

)

$

20,539

 

$

9,554

 

$

35,706

 

 

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Non-GAAP Financial Measures

 

Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution

 

We use the non-GAAP financial measures Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution in this report. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution to net earnings, the most directly comparable financial measure as calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, is shown above.

 

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, unrealized risk management gains and losses, loss on extinguishment of debt, foreign exchange gains and losses, inventory impairment write-downs, gains and losses on asset dispositions, non-cash compensation expense, asset impairments and other income. We believe the adjustments for other income are similar in nature to the traditional adjustments to net earnings used to calculate EBITDA and adjustment for these items results in an appropriate representation of this financial measure. Cash Available for Distribution is defined as Adjusted EBITDA reduced by interest expense (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs), income taxes paid, maintenance capital expenditures and other income. Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution are used as supplemental financial measures by our management and by external users of our financial statements, such as commercial banks and ratings agencies, to assess:

 

·                  the financial performance of our assets, operations and return on capital without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis;

 

·                  the ability of our assets to generate cash sufficient to pay interest on our indebtedness and make distributions to our equity holders;

 

·                  repeatable operating performance that is not distorted by non-recurring items or market volatility; and

 

·                  the viability of acquisitions and capital expenditure projects.

 

The non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution should not be considered as alternatives to net earnings. Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution are not presentations made in accordance with GAAP and have important limitations as analytical tools. Neither Adjusted EBITDA nor Cash Available for Distribution should be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution exclude some, but not all, items that affect net earnings and are defined differently by different companies, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

 

We recognize that the usefulness of Adjusted EBITDA as an evaluative tool may have certain limitations, including:

 

·                  Adjusted EBITDA does not include interest expense. Because we have borrowed money in order to finance our operations, interest expense is a necessary element of our costs and impacts our ability to generate profits and cash flows. Therefore, any measure that excludes interest expense may have material limitations;

 

·                  Adjusted EBITDA does not include depreciation and amortization expense. Because we use capital assets, depreciation and amortization expense is a necessary element of our costs and ability to generate profits. Therefore, any measure that excludes depreciation and amortization expense may have material limitations;

 

·                  Adjusted EBITDA does not include provision for income taxes. Because the payment of income taxes is a necessary element of our costs, any measure that excludes income tax expense may have material limitations;

 

·                  Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;

 

·                  Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, working capital needs; and

 

·                  Adjusted EBITDA does not allow us to analyze the effect of certain recurring and non-recurring items that materially affect our net earnings or loss.

 

Similarly, Cash Available for Distribution has certain limitations because it accounts for some, but not all, of the above limitations.

 

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Revenues

 

Revenues include fee-based revenue and net optimization revenue. Fee-based revenue consists of long-term contracts for storage fees that are generated when we lease storage capacity on a term basis and short-term fees associated with specified injections and withdrawals of natural gas. Optimization revenue results from the purchase of natural gas inventory and its forward sale to future periods through financial and physical energy trading contracts, with our facilities being used to store the inventory between acquisition and disposition of the natural gas inventory.

 

Revenues for each of the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-term contract revenue

 

$

13,373

 

$

21,278

 

$

67,956

 

$

62,161

 

Short-term contract revenue

 

2,255

 

9,206

 

6,059

 

32,990

 

Fee-based revenue

 

$

15,628

 

$

30,484

 

$

74,015

 

$

95,151

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realized optimization, net

 

$

7,013

 

$

24,296

 

$

25,244

 

$

47,193

 

Unrealized risk management gains (losses)

 

48,278

 

(28,933

)

48,127

 

(22,447

)

Write-downs of inventory

 

(31,700

)

 

(42,200

)

 

Optimization revenue, net

 

$

23,591

 

$

(4,637

)

$

31,171

 

$

24,746

 

 

Changes in revenue in the quarter were primarily attributable to the following:

 

Long-term contract revenue.  LTF revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2014 decreased by $7.9 million (37%) compared to the three months ended December 31, 2013 as a result of lower fees realized and less capacity allocated to this strategy in the current period. LTF revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $5.8 million (9%) compared to the same period last year. The year to date increase was due to the one-time, early termination payment of $26.0 million received from TransCanada. This was partially offset by lower demand fees and lower capacity allocated to our LTF strategy. Approximately 17 Bcf less capacity was allocated to this strategy in the current period compared to the prior year period.

 

Short-term contract revenue.  STF revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2014 declined by $7.0 million (76%) when compared to the three months ended December 31, 2013. STF revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 decreased by $26.9 million (82%) compared to the same period last year.  The current quarter and year to date STF rates continued to be negatively impacted by the suppressed spread environment. The decrease for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 was additionally impacted by certain transactions with lower contract rates which were entered into during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 to mitigate withdrawal risk. The effect of these contracts, which continued into first quarter of fiscal 2015, resulted in lower STF revenue when compared to the same period in the prior year.

 

Optimization Revenue.  Optimization revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2014 increased to $23.6 million from a net optimization loss of $4.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Optimization revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 increased to $31.2 million from $24.7 million in fiscal 2014. When evaluating the performance of our optimization business, we focus on our realized optimization margins, excluding the impact of unrealized economic hedging gains and losses and inventory write-downs. Our net optimization revenue includes the impact of unrealized economic hedging gains and losses and inventory write-downs, which cause our reported revenue to fluctuate from period to period. However, because all inventory is economically hedged, any inventory write-downs are offset by hedging gains and any unrealized hedging losses are offset by realized gains from the sale of physical inventory.

 

Realized Optimization Revenue, net.  Net realized optimization revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2014 decreased by $17.3 million compared to the three month ended December 31, 2013. Net realized optimization revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 decreased by $21.9 million compared to fiscal 2014. The timing of settlement of financial hedges and their relative positioning in each year impacted the gains realized on a three and nine month basis. The three and nine month period ended December 31, 2014 also included $4.0 million and $10.1 million in optimization revenue related to our marketing business, compared to $2.4 million and $7.0 million realized during the three and nine months period ended December 31, 2013. Revenue from the marketing business exceeded last year as a result of a stronger residential market in Western Canada.

 

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Unrealized Risk Management Gains (Losses). Unrealized risk management gains and losses are recorded based on the market value of derivative contracts.  For the three and nine month periods ended December 31, 2014, unrealized risk management gains were due to the increase in the value of our financial hedges due to declining natural gas prices relative to average sales contract prices in future months.

 

The three and nine month periods ended December 31, 2014 also included $4.5 million in unrealized risk management losses and $0.8 million in unrealized risk management gains from our retail marketing business, compared to $0.6 million and $0.4 million in unrealized risk management gains during the three and nine month periods ended December 31, 2013.

 

Write-Downs of Inventory. Natural gas prices fell during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014. This reduction increased the value of our economic hedges and decreased the value of the proprietary optimization inventory underlying those hedges. With the realization of losses positioned in the current fiscal year and the positioning of new hedges at lower values in future periods, the estimated market value of our inventories became less than its carrying cost. Accordingly, we wrote down our proprietary inventories by $31.7 million and $42.2 million during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014.

 

Operating Expenses

 

Operating expenses for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lease costs and property taxes

 

$

4,146

 

$

3,375

 

$

11,928

 

$

10,583

 

Fuel and electricity

 

1,745

 

1,782

 

10,298

 

7,285

 

Salaries and benefits

 

1,472

 

1,728

 

4,511

 

5,431

 

Maintenance

 

1,344

 

984

 

3,403

 

2,586

 

General operating costs

 

727

 

557

 

2,311

 

1,862

 

Total operating expenses

 

$

9,434

 

$

8,426

 

$

32,451

 

$

27,747

 

 

Operating expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $1.0 million (12%) compared to the three months ended December 31, 2013. Operating expenses for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $4.7 million (17%) compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2013. Lease costs during the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 increased compared to the prior period as a result of leasing additional cushion gas to manage our temporary pressure support requirements.  Fuel and electricity costs during the nine months ended December 31, 2014 increased compared to fiscal 2014 as a result of higher consumption of fuel gas and electricity to fill our reservoirs following the drawdown of inventories to low levels from the previous winter. Higher maintenance costs resulted from heavy usage of equipment to support the drawdown of inventories in fiscal 2014.

 

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General and Administrative Expenses

 

General and administrative expenses for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compensation costs

 

$

695

 

$

5,322

 

$

9,604

 

$

19,254

 

General costs, including office and information technology costs

 

1,108

 

1,141

 

3,398

 

3,154

 

Legal, audit and regulatory costs

 

2,430

 

2,898

 

7,511

 

7,756

 

Total general and administrative expenses

 

$

4,233

 

$

9,361

 

$

20,513

 

$

30,164

 

 

General and administrative expenses for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 decreased by $5.2 million (55%) and $9.7 million (32%) compared to the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013. In both instances, costs decreased principally as a result of lower incentive compensation accruals.

 

Depreciation and Amortization Expense

 

Depreciation and amortization expense for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 increased by $31.2 million and $76.6 million compared to the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013. The increases for the three and nine month periods reflected the provisions for cushion migration, totaling $31.2 million and $64.7 million, respectively, related to 3.0 Bcf and 6.2 Bcf of proprietary cushion gas estimated to have migrated at our facilities. In addition, a provision of $11.7 million for amortization of intangible assets related to the TransCanada contract termination was recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

 

Impairment of Goodwill

 

During the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 we concluded that a number of factors, including the continued narrow seasonal spread environment, combined with the significant reduction in natural gas price volatility, and a strong decline in our unit price were impairment indicators. As a result of this determination, we performed an interim impairment test and concluded the remaining balance of our goodwill was fully impaired, and therefore an impairment charge of $245.6 million was recorded.

 

Interest Expense

 

Interest expense for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013 consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest on Senior Notes

 

$

9,344

 

$

14,284

 

$

28,031

 

$

42,853

 

Interest on revolving credit facilities

 

2,774

 

1,808

 

7,077

 

3,756

 

Amortization of deferred charges

 

913

 

836

 

2,738

 

2,506

 

Other interest

 

151

 

186

 

383

 

603

 

Total interest expenses

 

$

13,182

 

$

17,114

 

$

38,229

 

$

49,718

 

 

Interest expense for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 decreased by $3.9 million (23%) and $11.5 million (23%) compared to the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013. Interest on our Senior Notes was reduced as a result of a lower interest rate and lower outstanding balances during the current fiscal year compared to the same periods in the prior year. In the three and nine months ended December 31, 2014 the Senior Notes consisted of $575.0 million of 6.50% Senior Notes due in 2019. During the same periods last year, the Senior Notes consisted of $643.8 million of 8.875% Senior Notes which were redeemed in March 2014. These decreases were partially offset by higher interest on our revolving credit facilities due to higher utilization.

 

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Income Taxes

 

Income tax benefit increased by $9.3 million and $25.3 million compared to the three and nine months ended December 31, 2013 due to an increase in losses recognized associated in Canadian taxable entities, driven by the write-downs of inventory and the migration of cushion gas.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Sources and Uses of Liquidity

 

The Company, through its subsidiaries, Niska Gas Storage US, LLC and AECO Gas Storage Partnership entered into senior secured asset-based revolving credit facilities, consisting of a U.S. revolving credit facility and a Canadian revolving credit facility (the “revolving credit facilities” or the “credit agreement”).  We depend on the revolving credit facilities to provide liquidity when our cash from operations is insufficient to fund our proprietary inventory purchases.  Borrowings under the revolving credit facilities are limited by a borrowing base.  The credit agreement provides that we may borrow only up to the lesser of the level of our then current borrowing base and our committed maximum borrowing capacity, which is currently $400 million.  Our borrowing base was $344.9 million as of January 26, 2015.

 

The combination of reductions in natural gas prices, margin amounts required to support our retail marketing operations, costs associated with our requirements for temporary reservoir pressure support and unfavorable market conditions which have prevented the Company from realizing additional revenues, earnings and Adjusted EBITDA have reduced the liquidity available under the $400 million revolving credit facility from $136.7 million at September 30, 2014 to $105.7 million at December 31, 2014. In addition, the differential between the Company’s aggregate borrowing base, which can be greater than the maximum borrowing amount of $400 million, and amounts utilized, decreased from $181.9 million at September 30, 2014 to $105.7 million at December 31, 2014.  Continued reduction in amounts available under the Company’s revolving credit facility may restrict the Company’s ability to pursue its optimization strategies. The inability of the Company to pursue such revenue strategies may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s revenues and profitability.

 

The credit agreement contains customary covenants, including a covenant that requires the maintenance of a fixed charge coverage ratio (“FCCR”) of 1.1 to 1.0 at the end of each fiscal quarter when excess availability under both revolving credit facilities is less than 15% of the aggregate amount of availability under both revolving credit facilities.  Thus, when the Company’s FCCR is below 1.1 to 1.0, the Company will be unable to borrow the last 15% of availability under the revolving credit facility without triggering an event of default.  As of December 31, 2014, the Company’s FCCR was 2.0 to 1.0.  The Company’s FCCR is impacted by a number of factors, the most important of which are realized revenues, operating costs and expenses and maintenance capital expenditures. These factors, particularly the amount and timing of realized revenues, can be difficult to accurately forecast.  These factors, or a combination of these factors, may cause the FCCR to fall below 1.1 to 1.0, which would then prevent the Company from using the last 15% availability under both revolving credit facilities.  The reduction in revolving credit availability could negatively impact our liquidity and our ability to fund operations.  The Company is pursuing strategies, which include reductions in operating costs as well as management of the components of the borrowing base, which should assist the Company in maintaining adequate liquidity despite this covenant provision.

 

On January 28, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors suspended Niska’s quarterly distribution to common unitholders. This suspension reflects the market conditions discussed above and the corresponding impact on our business.  The resumption of our quarterly distribution is at the discretion of the Board of Directors.  The conditions which would lead to a resumption of quarterly distributions are uncertain.

 

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Cash Flows from Operations and Investing Activities

 

The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash for the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively:

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

Operating Activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Net earnings (loss)

 

$

(307,426

)

$

(13,286

)

Adjustments to reconcile net earnings (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Unrealized foreign exchange losses

 

260

 

830

 

Deferred income tax benefit

 

(31,938

)

(6,561

)

Unrealized risk management (gains) losses

 

(48,127

)

22,447

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

107,730

 

31,149

 

Deferred charges amortization

 

2,738

 

2,506

 

Gain on disposal of assets

 

(64

)

 

Non-cash compensation expense

 

1,687

 

 

Impairment of goodwill

 

245,604

 

 

Write-downs of inventory

 

42,200

 

 

Changes in non-cash working capital

 

(105,338

)

(67,961

)

Net cash used in operating activities

 

(92,674

)

(30,876

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

(5,452

)

(3,669

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

99,045

 

33,328

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of translation of foreign currency on cash and cash equivalents

 

(243

)

(221

)

Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

$

676

 

$

(1,438

)

 

The variability in net cash provided by operating activities is primarily due to fluctuating market conditions that exist in any particular fiscal period, which impacts the margins and fees for our fee-based and optimization activities. This impacts our decision to buy or sell significant volumes of inventory or hold existing inventories over a fiscal period end and sell them in the future if there is an economic incentive to do so.

 

During the nine months ended December 31, 2014, we realized a decrease in cash from operations compared to the nine months ended December 31, 2013 as a result of the same factors affecting our profitability discussed above. The decrease resulted principally from the purchase of proprietary inventory, which was partially offset by the collection of accrued receivables and cash margining activities.

 

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Net changes in non-cash working capital consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margin deposits

 

$

29,434

 

$

(35,184

)

Trade receivables

 

2,769

 

(1,273

)

Accrued receivables

 

112,573

 

42,165

 

Natural gas inventory

 

(176,425

)

(99,043

)

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

(3,103

)

1,199

 

Other assets

 

(437

)

(88

)

Trade payables

 

(299

)

(218

)

Accrued liabilities

 

(67,187

)

24,222

 

Deferred revenue

 

(2,029

)

319

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

(634

)

(60

)

Total

 

$

(105,338

)

$

(67,961

)

 

As noted above, net changes in non-cash working capital can fluctuate significantly from period to period and is primarily affected by timing differences between the purchase and sale of natural gas inventory, including margin requirements and cash settlement on related risk management instruments, and the timing of collections from our customers.

 

Investing Activities

 

Substantially all of our cash used for investing activities consisted of capital expenditures in each of the nine months ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. Capital expenditures in each nine month period consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended

 

 

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2014

 

2013

 

 

 

(unaudited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maintenance capital

 

$

3,240

 

$

1,082

 

Expansion capital

 

510

 

2,573

 

Total capital expenditures

 

3,750

 

3,655

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Changes in accrued capital expenditures

 

1,716

 

(1,993

)

Purchase of customer contracts

 

 

2,007

 

Proceeds from sale of assets

 

(14

)

 

Net cash used in investing activities

 

$

5,452

 

$

3,669

 

 

Maintenance capital expenditures are capital expenditures made to replace partially or fully depreciated assets, to maintain the existing operating capacity of our assets and to extend their useful lives. Expansion capital expenditures are made to acquire additional assets to grow our business, to expand and upgrade our facilities and to acquire similar operations or facilities. Cost reduction expenditures are capital expenditures which increase the effectiveness and/or efficiency of our assets or which enable us to operate at a lower cost.

 

Under our current plan, we expect to spend less than $1.0 million for the remainder of fiscal 2015 for maintenance capital to maintain the integrity of our storage facilities and ensure the reliable injection, storage and withdrawal of natural gas for our customers.  Expansion capital for the remainder of fiscal 2015 is expected to be minimal.

 

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Table of Contents

 

Item 3.  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

There were no material changes to the disclosures made in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 regarding this matter.

 

At December 31, 2014, 60.3 Bcf of natural gas inventory was economically hedged, representing 98.7% of our total current inventory. Because inventory is recorded at the lower of cost or market, not fair value, if the price of natural gas increased by $1.00 per Mcf the value of inventory would increase by $61.0 million, the fair value or mark-to-market value of our economic hedges would decrease by $60.3 million, and the impact due to the non-economically hedged position would be $0.7 million. Similarly, if the price of natural gas declined by $1.00 per Mcf, the value of inventory would decrease by $61.0 million while the fair value of our economic hedges would increase by $60.3 million and the impact due to the non-economically hedged position would be $0.7 million.

 

At December 31, 2014, we were exposed to interest rate risk resulting from the variable rates associated with our $400 million Credit Agreement. A balance of $240.5 million was drawn on the credit facilities at December 31, 2014. The interest rate applicable on the credit facilities is subject to change based on certain ratios and the magnitude of our drawings on the facility. At December 31, 2014, a one percent increase or decrease in interest rates would have an impact of approximately $2.4 million on our interest expense.

 

Item 4.  Controls and Procedures

 

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our principal executive officer (“CEO”) and principal financial officer (“CFO”) undertook an evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. The CEO and the CFO have concluded that our controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2014. For purposes of this section, the term “disclosure controls and procedures” means controls and other procedures of an issuer that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. However, a controls system cannot provide absolute assurance that the objectives of the controls system are met, and no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within a company have been detected.

 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act that occurred during our last fiscal quarter that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

 

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Table of Contents

 

PART II—OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1.  Legal Proceedings

 

For information on legal proceedings, see Part 1, Item 1, Financial Statements, Note 2, “Commitments and Contingencies” in the Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements included in this quarterly report, which is incorporated into this item by reference.

 

Item 1A.  Risk Factors

 

There have been no material changes from the risk factors described previously in Part I, Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014, filed on May 30, 2014.

 

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Table of Contents

 

Item 6.  Exhibits

 

Exhibit
Number

 

 

 

Description

3.1

 

 

Certificate of formation of Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of Amendment to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-165007) filed on April 15, 2010).

 

 

 

 

 

3.2

 

 

Second Amended and Restated Operating Agreement of Niska Gas Storage Partners LLC dated April 2, 2013 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 of the Company’s current report on Form 8-K filed on April 3, 2013).

 

 

 

 

 

31.1*

 

 

Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

 

 

 

 

31.2*

 

 

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

 

 

 

 

32.1**

 

 

Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

32.2**

 

 

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

101.INS*

 

 

XBRL Instance Document.

 

 

 

 

 

101.SCH*

 

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.

 

 

 

 

 

101.CAL*

 

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.

 

 

 

 

 

101.LAB*

 

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.

 

 

 

 

 

101.PRE*

 

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.

 

 

 

 

 

101.DEF*

 

 

Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.

 


*                                         Filed herewith.

**                                  Furnished herewith.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

NISKA GAS STORAGE PARTNERS LLC

 

 

 

 

Date: February 3, 2015

By:

/s/ VANCE E. POWERS

 

 

Vance E. Powers

 

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

(Principal Accounting Officer)

 

39